Sorry, I got distracted by your looks

Since he had already removed his ceremonial jacket, I continued instructing him.

“Now take off your vest, trousers, socks, and shoes. Then sit comfortably on the sofa and rest until it’s time for your departure. I’ll handle the rest.”

Mikrok followed my orders, slowly removing his vest and unfastening his belt. Then, he took off his shoes and socks.

I struggled to keep my eyes from drifting toward his exposed body, forcing myself to stare at some distant, imaginary mountain.

By the time I dared to look again, he had changed into a comfortable night robe and was sitting lazily on the sofa.

I approached—not toward him, but toward his discarded clothes.

First, I picked up his ceremonial jacket and flung it toward the bedroom entrance.

The exquisitely tailored garment tumbled to the floor in a heap.

Next, I tossed his vest a little further ahead, followed by his shoes, socks, and belt, each landing progressively closer to the bed.

It was crucial to arrange them carefully—like the scattered remnants of a passionate, reckless night.

“Pffft—HAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

At last, Mikrok caught on to what I was doing. He burst into laughter, unable to hold it back.

“Leah, you are just…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence, too overcome with amusement.

Excuse me?!

Here I was, pouring my heart and soul into crafting a

scene, and he was

at me?!

“Stop laughing! I’m being completely serious right now.”

“You always exceed my imagination,” he said between chuckles. “Lately, I’ve started feeling bad for how lacking my own imagination is.”

Still grinning, he walked toward me, eyes dancing with mischief.

“From the way you’ve set up the scene… it looks like I was so overwhelmed with desire that I threw off my clothes piece by piece at the bedroom entrance and

on you near the bed…”

His gaze trailed over the carefully placed garments, amusement flickering in his expression.

“But isn’t this a bit unfair? It looks like

was the only one undressed. Shouldn’t you take something off too?”

“I’m still thinking about that. Now stop distracting me and go sit down,

!”

I pushed his back toward the sofa, furrowing my brows in deep concentration.

What should I remove first? Shoes? Dress?

Wait—when in doubt, just

!

“Hey, Mik… If we were actually going to spend our wedding night together, what would you take off first?”

“Hmm…”

He leaned back in the sofa, watching me with interest.

“I’d start with that hairpin. When we kissed earlier, your hair decorations were in the way. It hurt my hands.”

Aha!

made perfect sense!

Without hesitation, I pulled out the pins holding my hair up.

One by one, they slid free, allowing my platinum locks to unravel and cascade down my back like a waterfall.

Mikrok flinched slightly, but I was too preoccupied to notice.

I carefully placed the pins near his discarded uniform, then kicked off my shoes and tossed them a little further ahead.

“What about the dress? Should I leave it at the foot of the bed?”

I turned to ask him, but the moment our eyes met, my heart pounded violently.

I forced myself to shake it off, but before I could act, Mikrok stood up and walked toward me.

Without warning, he wrapped his arms around me and gently ran his hand down my back.

“Ah—!”

I jolted, heat suddenly spreading through my body.

Trying to act unaffected, I squirmed, attempting to break free.

“W-why are you—?!”

He held me closer, long fingers working to untie the ribbons lacing the back of my dress.

“This dress looks beautiful, but up close, it’s

,” he muttered, amused yet irritated. “So many ribbons—why make it this hard to take off?”

He chuckled as he continued loosening the knots.

Then suddenly—

“Damn it. There are

underneath the ribbons?!”

He scowled.

“This dress will never be worn at a Pritan royal wedding

!”

“What do you mean—?!”

Before I could finish, Mikrok spun me around.

Gripping the fabric with both hands, he gave a firm tug.

The delicate pearl buttons popped off one by one, scattering across the floor.

With one final pull, the back of the dress

open.

Effortlessly, he lifted the gown over my head and tossed it aside, leaving me in my underdress.

I gasped, overwhelmed by embarrassment.

But—wasn’t this exactly what I

for my plan?

His fingers grazed the shoulder straps of my underdress, and I instinctively recoiled, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I-I’ll do this part myself!! Just turn around for a second!”

He raised an eyebrow but complied, turning his back to me.

As quickly as I could, I removed the underdress and grabbed a robe from the bed, tying the sash tightly around my waist.

Then, I carelessly tossed the undergarment near the bed—just to complete the

.

I spun him back around and shoved him toward the sofa.

“You’re leaving soon—so just SIT and RELAX!”

He let out a slow breath, staring at me with exasperation.

“You’re telling a man about to march into battle to

while you stand in front of him like

?”

Still seated, he suddenly pulled me forward by the waist.

Caught off guard, I found myself standing between his knees, trapped by his arms.

“You

realize how contradictory you’re being right now?”

His hands slid slowly up my waist, fingers pressing lightly through the thin fabric of my robe.

A strange, tingling sensation crept down my spine.

For a fleeting moment, I had the ridiculous urge to thread my fingers through his silky black hair.

But I forced myself to

.

“S-stop!”

I gripped his hands, stopping them from traveling further.

“I don’t want to wear you out before you go to battle! So the

wedding night will be…”

I swallowed hard before finishing.

“When you return safely.”

At that, he pulled me close again, burying his face in my chest.

“…Mik?”

“Earlier, I was… a little jealous of my own helmet.”

“…What?”

“You were holding onto it so tightly… I kind of wished you were holding

like that instead.”

…What kind of absurd statement was that?!

But… why was my heart racing?!

He inhaled deeply, his warm breath tickling my collarbone.

“You smell

good,” he murmured against my skin.

Then, his intense blue eyes lifted to mine—dark with an unmistakable hunger.

I quickly averted my gaze.

“If you hold me any longer, I

tell you not to leave.”

Summoning my courage, I cupped his face in my hands.

“Come back to me without a single scratch on that handsome face, okay?”

His arms tightened around me, and he let out a deep chuckle.

“I’m actually curious to see how far you’ll take this little wedding night

of yours.”

With that, he finally let go.

“Go ahead. Finish what you started.”

Freed from his grip, I immediately threw myself onto the bed.

Then—I

.

I flipped over, tangled myself in the sheets, and even

up and down.

Somewhere in the midst of my chaos, I

I saw his pupils dilate slightly.

But I was too focused on making the bed look as

as possible to care.

Once I was satisfied, I took one last step.

A small knife lay on the table among the refreshments.

I picked it up and

sliced my palm, watching as a bead of red welled up.

Just a few drops on the sheets would complete the illusion.

I turned toward the bed—

“What the

are you doing?!”

Before I knew it, Mikrok had

me down, his furious expression hovering over mine.

His deep blue eyes, now stormy with rage, locked onto my bleeding hand.

“I asked you a question.”

I tried to push him away, but he

budge.

“Ugh, Mik! Just—wait a second!”